With the aforementioned design principles in mind, formulate a workable plan for how you will go about designing your film’s locations, sets, backgrounds, and other environments. Similar to other aspects of filmmaking, this starts with breaking down your script (see Action Steps: Design Analysis, below). During that process, you will reach conclusions about what scenes will require locations to shoot in, and which ones you will either need or want to build sets for. Then, you will dig deeper and decide what locations should be dressed up or altered in some way, and what set pieces and props you will need.

After you evaluate your story, think about which of these choices are realistic and which are not—what you can and can’t actually do—and how you can either tailor your resources for what is on the written page of your script or strategically write something that you know will fit your resources. For example, if you know you will have no crew, and you have no construction experience or funds for buying materials, then obviously you will need to focus on finding existing locations rather than building sets. On a professional production, you would make these types of decisions in partnership with a production manager—the person responsible for evaluating proposed locations from a logistical standpoint—as we will discuss in Chapter 5. For now, at the student level, you will likely be solely responsible for considering the balance of your creative needs with your logistical limitations while evaluating this delicate location versus sets paradigm.

In fact, because of resource limitations, student filmmakers most typically film on location, rather than trying to afford stages and build sets. However, even if that is the case, you will almost certainly still need to build, paint, or otherwise change something. Thus, the fundamentals of figuring out and allocating resources, scouting locations and dressing them, and building sets or set pieces are just as important for you to learn as are the principles of art and composition.

Research and References

After you have broken down your script to determine your overall project needs, you will begin meticulous research to find elements and solutions for strategically executing the design. As we have urged, you can, and should, do constant general research, and labor always to train your eye to notice light, shadows, textures, shades, fabrics, and other subtle things in the world around you and in great art and photographs; this kind of training will inform your decision-making process when you begin to design a particular set or location.

But general research isn’t enough. You need to get specific—we want you to research potential visual qualities of every scene, location, interior, and environment. By “researching” them, we mean going out into the world and attempting to find direct or indirect visual references that evoke the environment in question. If you are shooting a scene at a circus, head to a real circus. If you have a sequence in a parking garage, study parking garages.

And by “going out,” we mean exactly that—go out and study, and don’t default to relying exclusively on the Internet. The web is a valuable and free research tool that students of earlier eras did not have access to. Yet veteran production designers insist that if you rely too heavily on it, and do not go out and physically examine real-world colors, fabrics, materials, and textures yourself, you will not be nearly as informed as you should be in making quality design decisions (see Producer Smarts: Dumpster Diving, below).

Therefore, strategically collect and organize reference photos, magazine and book clippings, drawings, paint and fabric swatches, and so on. You should also create sketches or take photographs that relate to the types of environments you will be featuring in your film. If you have locations picked out, walk those locations, and take photos and room measurements, and draw sketches to keep a fresh frame of reference about each space.

As you collect this material, you must organize it. Some designers organize it into alphabetized files, others into binders or reference books that apply to each scene or location in a movie. Catherine Hardwicke calls these “look books”—essentially organized files or binders of relevant visuals and data that apply to all the locations in your film. These become your template for figuring out a final design for each location.

Keep in mind, however, that your binder or files may consist of more than just photos and sketches. They could also contain color options, swatches, paint chips, diagrams, notes, comparison imagery from different eras and sites, close-up photos of props and furniture, pieces of wood or fabric, and so on. Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to boil things down even further and collect reference material with more specificity. For example, you could look for the following:

These are just a handful of examples. There is no limit to what you can collect or how you can organize it, as long as your organizational method is efficient. Remember, as a bonus, these types of look books will outlive your project and eventually join a personal research library that you will likely find useful if you pursue filmmaking in the future.

Locations

Detailed script analysis and extensive research should lead you to a general understanding of when and why you would be best served shooting on location, and when you would ideally want to build sets to achieve particular shots. When all factors are equal, for most movies, the notion of reality, or at least believability, is central to connecting with audiences. This is one reason location shooting is often ideal; a real location, when dressed and shot properly, almost always feels more realistic than a fabricated set. Of course, all factors are not always equal, particularly when it comes to resources. Regardless of what level on the filmmaking hierarchy you are on, location shooting can be, in many cases, more affordable than renting a stage and building elaborate sets, at least when extensive travel is not involved. The complications of building sets and working on sound stages are a high bar for you to clear with few resources as film students. Therefore, as you pursue a filmmaking education, you are likely to be shooting on lots of real locations over time. Keep in mind, however, that a “location” could be your backyard or classroom or driveway. Such everyday places close to home are sites you should seriously consider if they can be made to fit with your story. Don’t discount them—you can radically alter and highlight even the most mundane patch of grass if you need to.

To get started, you first need to know what to look for when scouting locations that will work practically and creatively. In the professional world, location managers take the lead in this effort, but they do so in close collaboration with the director, production manager, and production designer, who frequently join them on location scouts.

As student filmmakers, take extensive notes when you scout locations. One glaringly obvious factor does not need much elaboration: investigate from the outset whether it is even possible to get permission, or an official permit if required, to shoot there. Although it is true that many students and independent filmmakers shoot “guerrilla style” in public locations—simply showing up with camcorders, filming with minimal setup or crew, and departing as quickly as they came—understand that operating that way can be disrespectful to the general public frequenting that area at best, and downright illegal at worst. And creatively, shooting in that style may end up giving your narrative material a documentary feel that is not intended. Get permission or go somewhere else.

With that said, here are other fundamental factors to consider:

There is one other factor to consider in deciding whether or not to shoot on location and, if so, how to go about finding those locations: time. It can be time-consuming and laborious to drive or fly, even if resources permit it, to various locations for hours, days, even weeks on end, to find spots that work best for you. Once again, think like a producer: if what you are looking for is exceedingly rare or unusual, and you expect it won’t be easy to find, you will need to calculate the time and resource benefits of searching for that location versus coming up with a plan for building a set for it.

Sets

There are many reasons to build sets rather than shoot exclusively on location, particularly when there is no accessible location available to you. Another reason might be when complete control of lighting is needed for a visual effects scene. It can sometimes be more cost effective to shoot on a stage rather than risk the vagaries of a location shoot, as light control is a dominating factor for that kind of material. More generally, you typically have more control over light, weather, power, and other logistical issues on a set.

As noted earlier, one of the drawbacks is that you may have a hard time achieving the same level of realism that you would on location. Another obstacle revolves around resources. To build sets, you first need to find a place to build them—a sound stage usually, although you can creatively employ warehouses, basements, airline hangars, or garages for low-budget projects. Procuring permission and affording the cost of renting a sound stage can be difficult. Second, you need raw materials and proper equipment. Third, you must possess the design, construction, and paint skills necessary to build sets, as well as the ability to get the work done in a safe and efficient manner.

Still, one way or another, you will eventually have to build a set of some type. Let’s look at a handful of foundational issues you need to address when planning sets: